Kopriana lighthouse, built on manure!

Our next journey took us to the far corner of the Gulf approximately 12 miles away in a NE direction. With only 3 knots of wind we decided to see if it was possible to sail in such a light wind with our folding propellers. It was something that we just couldn't consider with our fixed propellers because progress forward was non existent. We were therefore amazed to see that Flirtie could actually sail at 1.5 knots with the sails barely filled as she created tiny bubbles in her wake. A few hours later we then found ourselves romping along between 6-7 knots in the predictable afternoon wind.

Our course took us across the mouth of one of the rivers where a long shallow sand spit had formed. The shallow area reportedly extended further out than on the charts but by how much, we didn't know. We decided to stay a reasonable distance off and keep an eye on the depth sounder but wondered if anyone on the Navily sailing community had recently visited the area. Sure enough someone had and provided a depth reading, including the GPS position, which we were clear of on our chosen course.

We arrived within a couple of hours to anchor off Ormos Kopriana just off the harbour entrance, west of the small village of Menidhion. We could leave the dinghy alongside a pontoon in the harbour in order to get ashore. Imagine our surprise and delight when our arrival coincided with a huge loggerhead turtle that came up for air right next to us. We don't know who was more surprised but the turtle vanished pronto.

Apart from a Greek family run taverna, a small black/salt pan beach, the equivalent of a plaza and a few derelict but well maintained buildings there really wasn't much ashore. If it wasn't for the taverna that was popular with the locals it would have been a soulless place.


the local Taverna


small black salt beach

Unexpectedly Kopriana is rich in history as it used to be a major trading port in the 18th century. At the time only the bare bones of infrastructure essential to trade were built: a customs house, warehouse, taverna, police station and water tanks.


several derelict buildings, possibly built in the exact location of the ones in the 18th century

Ships loaded with cargo such as flour, rice, sugar, coffee and passengers would anchor off and unload into small boats to be taken ashore before being loaded into carts and pushed by the locals into the warehouse for distribution.


rail tracks lead the way straight into the warehouse

The stone built lighthouse was built in 1893 on an island created by manure! Local farmers would bring their cows to poop in the same area. Over time the area grew large and dry enough to drive stakes into the ground and lay the foundations to accommodate a 9 meter tall stone walled lighthouse & keepers house. It was possible to walk out to the lighthouse along a crazy paved path that had been laid in between marshlands and the river. The path had a lot of undergrowth and foliage that frequently rustled. It was a path now less frequented by humans but more by hundreds of large ants as they scurried around the place.


crazy paved path lead the way to the lighthouse


a large ant


view of the wetland from the lighthouse rooftop

Between the thousands of giant ants and the rustling noises around us the imagination started to run wild with visions of us being eaten alive by ants or killed off by snakes. It was tempting to make a lot of noise but we wouldn't have heard the birds around us as the area was the perfect habitat for heron, egrets and various other marsh and reed loving birds.

It was a great place to have visited and we would return again because it was so quiet and tranquil however, with all the low lying land around there were literally thousands of mosquitoes! Fortunately they didn't bite but they did prevent us from sitting out in the evenings.

Total distance this season: 764.54 nautical miles